At Least 12 Military Bases Contaminating Waters With Dangerously High Levels of PFAS

New Department of Defense testing has indicated that dangerous amounts of hazardous PFAS are poisoning water sources in regions near at least 12 military sites, raising public health groups that the DoD is not doing enough to safeguard the public.

The military's data provided this week showed levels of five types of PFAS chemicals at "very high" levels, according to Scott Faber, vice-president of government affairs for Environmental Working Group, and they pose a health risk to citizens living nearby.

"You can only hope that now that people are aware of the problem, they are looking for alternate water sources," he added.

PFAS, the Forever Chemical

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of roughly 9,000 compounds used in various sectors to make goods resistant to water, stains, and heat. Despite their effectiveness, the substances have been associated with cancer, renal disease, birth deformities, low immunity, liver difficulties, and other dangerous illnesses.

They're known as "forever chemicals" because of how long they last in the environment.

PFAS are very dangerous fluorinated compounds used in hundreds of common items. They accumulate in our bodies and do not degrade in the environment. PFAS has been related to cancer, reproductive and immune system injury, and other disorders in very tiny amounts.

Chemical firms hid evidence of PFAS' health risks for decades. PFAS is now found in virtually all Americans' blood, including newborn newborns, and more than 200 million people may be consuming PFAS-contaminated water. What began as a "modern chemistry marvel" has turned into a national calamity.

Military Bases

In training exercises and crises, military firefighters employ aqueous film-forming foam, or AAFF, containing extraordinarily high quantities of PFAS. But AFFF is effective; it has resulted in extensive contamination near bases and airports. Congress recently demanded that the military inspect 700 installations for PFAS pollution and set aside $571 million for cleaning, though many believe the cost will be much higher.

Meanwhile, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 requires the Pentagon to phase out AFFF and replace it with safer alternatives already on the market.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a 70-parts-per-billion recommended health threshold for PFOS and PFOA, two forms of PFAS used in foam, though this might be decreased shortly. Several states have already set considerably lower standards.

PFOS levels in groundwater near Seattle's Whidbey Island NAS hit 4,700 parts per trillion and eight locations above the EPA's recommended standards. Meanwhile, the agency examined the levels of three additional PFAS compounds that surpassed 1,150 ppt. While there is no federal requirement for those compounds, several were above state-set limits.

How Harmful Can Military Bases Be For the Environment

For decades, benzene, trichloroethylene, lead, and other toxic substances infiltrated the groundwater at military bases due to leaking storage tanks and waste disposal procedures. Groundwater was also contaminated by PFAS, which was detected in 2012 on the base and in the adjacent villages.

DND Report

The Department of Defense stated that it had given bottled water, filtration devices, or linked households to municipal water lines in areas where PFAS contamination was discovered since 2016.

"The Department of Defense continues to conduct routine samples at impacted off-base areas and is expanding sampling to examine further and identify locations where there is a known or prospective risk of PFAS leak," according to a spokeswoman.

On the other hand, Faber claims that the military has known about the threat for decades and that "they are only informing neighbors because Congress forced them to."

"They would continue to be a nasty neighbor in the absence of a Congressional edict," he stated.

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